Online Workshop for Project Based Learning
Over 150 middle school students from several leading schools such as S. Thoma’s College Mt Lavinia, Ladies College, Musaeus College, 
D.S.Senanayake College, St Benedict’s College, Horizon International School, Colombo International School and Royal College participated in this workshop which was held on 31st May 2013 at the Royal College Skills Centre.
The workshop was inaugurated by the Chief Guest Mr Chris Elms, the Press and Information Officer of the US Embassy, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Mr Elms addressing the forum stated that the Embassy has been involved with schools for many years and with iEARN since the 1980’s through the United States Information Service (USIS) which is part of the State Department – the US Ministry of External Affairs. He mentioned that social media has two main applications: opportunity to share experiences (through networks such as iEARN) and opportunity to learn from worldwide. According to Mr Elms, the most important aspect being the opportunity to connect with people of the same age group from different countries and cultures to exchange views and ideas with the assistance of the ever growing IT.
He also added that the Embassy supports Sri Lankan students on a continuous basis to go overseas on student exchange programmes and in fact at present 4 students are already studying social media in Oklahoma. Further, he added that student exchanges and being involved in activities through iEARN would no doubt assist to mould the present generation in to global citizens. Finally, Mr Elms requested the students to maintain and continue the momentum of this workshop and to take it further with the follow up workshop which is already scheduled to take place in September 2013.
Keynote address was delivered by the Guest of Honour Mr Udara Soysa who is a United Nations Humanitarian Correspondent and also an old boy of Royal College. Mr Soysa in his address mainly explained how this kind of exposure had enabled him to overcome his inhibitions and helped him to become who he is today. He also discussed the great heights a student can reach through the experience gained by being involved in projects such as this.
The project was coordinated online by the Russian iEARN project facilitator Ms. Olga Timofeeva. Along with Ms. Timofeeva a group of Russian students joined Sri Lankan students online to carry out an interactive session about various projects both countries are involved in at present. The main theme of this workshop was to discuss UNESCO World Heritage and Intercultural Citizenship which is also a relevant area for the middle school students as it is within the framework of their curricula. At the end of the workshop the students of both countries discussed the possibility of amalgamation of similar projects in future. A Sri Lankan student suggested the theme “Power of Smile” for their next project with the Russian peer group which they unanimously agreed to. Hence, the next workshop would be an incorporation of online anthology with the said theme jointly done by the two countries.
The event portrayed the future of education. Online workshops such as this enable the students and teachers to experience the exhilarating effect of receiving feedback from someone many miles away and develop a world perspective. It gives one the opportunity to learn from different cultures and brings in a dynamic element to the act of study.
In the past Royal College had successfully executed several international/online projects with the aegis of iEARN with themes such as Family History, Friends Book, My Country, Bullying, Teddy Bear, World Heritage, My Hero, National Crops etc. Projects of this nature 
assist students to gain international exposure and enhance in their IT & presentation skills as they participate interactively with students/teachers from all over the world to exchange ideas. Royal College has been involved with iEARN since 1998 and the participants of those early projects vouch for the lasting impact this involvement has made in their lives and careers.
Mrs. Lakshmi Attygalle, Deputy Principal Royal College and who is also the country representative for iEARN addressing the gathering stated that in the present context, as interactive collaborative learning styles combined with online experience is still quite new among the Sri Lankan school students, this kind of events are major achievements in order to inspire students to be creative innovative leaders for the future. She also stated that in future they will enhance the usage of the internet facility for studies as an attempt to empower the students in becoming independent as soon as possible. Further, that they will provide support and the shielding that is essential to ensure learners’ productivity and utmost safety is maintained on the internet.
Initiative was taken pursuant to the workshop for every teacher and student who participated at this event to be enrolled as a member of iEARN to carry out projects within their respective schools in future with the aegis of iEARN.
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